Higher Arab Monitoring Committee Chairman Shawki Khatib, surprised committee members Thursday by announcing his resignation. He voiced his intention to end his duties at the end of October after marking the anniversary of the October events.
Committee members as well as heads of the Arab Regional Council rejected the resignation, and tried to convince Khatib to reconsider. Khatib did not provide a reason for his resignation; however, disagreements surrounding the reorganization of the committee may have brought it on.
Khatib added that he intended to continue in his other roles as chairman of the Arab Regional Council and head of the Local Council of Yafia’a.
In response to Khatib’s announcement, committee members requested ‘freezing” his resignation “in light of the committee’s current internal situation.”
Hadash Chairman MK Mohammad Barakeh, who also requested freezing the resignation, said that there was a need to discuss the reasons that brought it about. Committee members all agreed to this position and took the resignation to be a “red light”, warning of problems in the committee.
MK Barakeh also commented on the October events saying that the reason for those events should not be forgotten. “Anyone who believes that equality can be reached without a fight against the occupation and an end to the bloodshed is living in an illusion.”
“You can’t separate these two types of struggle. We see a danger in the attempts at neutralizing our public of the struggle it has against the occupation and for a just peace,” said Hadash Chairman.
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